Karina Smirnoff

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT KARINA SMIRNOFF - PAGE 3

Karina Smirnoff will not win the "mirrorball" trophy on "Dancing With the Stars" this season, but on Saturday night she debuted a sparkler that puts the trophy to shame: a dazzling diamond engagement ring. The professional dancer is engaged to professional baseball pitcher Brad Penny of the St. Louis Cardinals, Eonline.com reports. "I'm so happy," Smirnoff said, debuting the ring Saturday at a fifth-anniversary party for Las Vegas club Tao. Though she's paid to be swept off her feet on a weekly basis, Smirnoff said fiance Penny accomplished the feat away from the ballroom floor, popping the questions at a dinner in October that Smirnoff was led to believe was a business meeting, according to Usmagazine.

Susan Boyle has recorded her first tune for a planned album, reports People.com. "She sounds fantastic," said Simon Cowell, who may be biased -- his team is producing the CD. ... Fantasia, who once triumphed on "American Idol," has wowed critics in the Washington stage production of "The Color Purple." "Fantasia carries off not only the whole stage-acting thing," wrote critic Peter Marks, " ... but also practically the entire lumbering musical on two solid shoulders." ... "Dancing with the Stars" duo Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy won't be married in a castle.

Billy Ray Cyrus, who said appearing on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" was "the scariest thing I could possibly think of to do," has bid farewell to the ballroom. Cyrus and partner Karina Smirnoff were cut Tuesday. Actor Tom Sizemore, on probation for a drug rap, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of possessing methamphetamine as he sat in a car outside a Bakersfield, Calif., hotel. Michael Chow, whose designer restaurants attract the celebrity set, used "degradation as a management technique" at his two Manhattan locations, according to a federal lawsuit.

Red, White & Jovi Jon Bon Jovi will be there for Hillary Clinton. He's performing at a fundraiser for Clinton as she tries to close out her campaign debt, which stood at $6.3 million as of December, the Associated Press reports. The Jan. 15 performance at Manhattan's Town Hall is being billed as "a final evening in support of Hillary Clinton for President Debt Relief." Ticket prices range from $75 to $1,000. The former first lady and New York senator has been working to pay down her debt to clear the way for confirmation as President-elect Obama's secretary of state.

Season 3 of "Dancing With the Stars" has had its fair share of controversial, and touching, moments: - Rumors have spread that some of the professional dancers have hooked up with their celebrity partners. (Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Willa Ford, an unidentified coupling co-host Samantha Harris only giggles about.) - In Week 3, Monique Coleman (right) had a wardrobe malfunction that exposed her bottom. - Online critics groused that Lopez has had prior professional dance training.

A look at the best and worst moments at the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Curt Wagner, RedEye Best - The best supporting actress in a comedy nominees donned fake eyeglasses as their names were announced, except Vanessa Williams of "Ugly Betty," who shook her head as if to say, "I'm not going to look silly on camera." - Sarah Silverman, a nominee for best comedy actress, wore a mustache when the camera panned to her in the crowd. Presenter Justin Timberlake doesn't miss a beat: "That's what hormones will do."

If you weren't one of the more than 16 million viewers regularly tuning in to season 7 of "Dancing With the Stars" you missed an 82-year-old Emmy winner (Cloris Leachman) acting sly as a fox more than doing the fox trot; a track star (Maurice Greene) shaking his groove thang; a 300-pound former defensive tackle (Warren Sapp) doing a "Matrix" move (in a full length coat!); and so much more entertainment. You can get a hint of what makes the show so popular at "Dancing With the Stars" The Tour where celebrities Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Greene and Marlee Matlin (from season 6)

Rocco DiSpirito and his professional partner, Karina Smirnoff, were dead last Tuesday night on "Dancing With the Stars," but he's looking on the bright side. "You say to yourself, 'God, that is going to be so embarrassing, I hope that it's not us,'" DiSpirito admitted to People.com. "But then it was us. And it's not so bad, because it could be worse; we could be going home." Misty May-Treanor's injury saved the celebrity chef, who also spoke with E! Online about the tough competition and judging.

In what was the worst-kept secret (pairings started leaking out last week after the celebs were announced), "Dancing with the Stars" made the celeb-pro teams public Monday. Season 9 kicks off on Sept. 21, with eight teams performing and then the other eight strutting their stuff Sept. 22. On Sept. 23, two pairs will get the boot. Who do you think is going to win? Who's going to hook up? Who's going down with a freak injury? Visit redeyechicago.com/showpatrol to tell RedEye's TV writer Curt Wagner your thoughts.